1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus used in the reloading process to centerfire rifle ammunition including but not limited to .223 Remington, .220 Swift, .243 Winchester, 6 mm, 6.5.times.55 mm, .270 Winchester, 7 mm Remington Magnum, .308 Winchester, .30-'06, .300 Weatherby Magnum, .303 British, and centerfire piston ammunition, including but not limited to 9 mm Parabellum, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .45 ACP, et cetera, hereinafter collectively referred to as "metallic cartridges". This apparatus does not relate to the reloading of rimfire cartridges such as the 22 long rifle, the 22 short or to the reloading of shotgun shells in any gauge, i.e. .410 gauge, 28 gauge, 20 gauge, 16 gauge, 12 gauge, or 10 gauge. More specifically, this method and apparatus relate in an improved system for orienting and stacking primers one on top of another in a tubular receptacle. After stacking, the primers are transferred from the receptacle to a primer feed tube which is an integral component of many conventional reloading devices. In an alternate embodiment, the primers could be directly stacked in the primer feed tube.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many excellent books are available which describe, in detail, the state of the prior art, e.g. Lyman Reloading Handbook, Speer Reloading Manual for Rifle and Pistol, Hornady Reloading Manual, et cetera.
All modern metallic cartridges consist of the following four elements: a cartridge case, a primer, powder, and a bullet. The cartridge case is typically manufactured out of brass and is commonly referred to simply as "brass". The cartridge case is an elongate hollow tubular member manufactured to very specific tolerances to conform to the chamber of a rifle or pistol. On one end of the cartridge case is a neck with a circular opening which receives and holds the bullet. On the other end of the cartridge case is a circular primer pocket which receives and holds the primer. The primer pocket connects with the hollow interior of the cartridge case via a passageway commonly known as a flash hole or vent. The powder, of course, is contained inside of the hollow cartridge case between the bullet on one end and the primer on the other end.
The operation of modern metallic cartridges is well known in the art. A firing pin strikes the primer which creates a small explosion which ignites the powder. The powder burns in a very rapid fashion creating high gas pressure inside of the cartridge case contained within the chamber of the rifle or pistol. The high gas pressure forces the bullet out of the neck of the cartridge case and out the rifle or pistol barrel.
Most hunters and marksmen will purchase metallic cartridges in a fully loaded condition. Fully loaded means that the cartridge case comes preassembled with an unfired primer, powder and a bullet. After the metallic cartridge has been fired and has been extracted from the chamber of the rifle or pistol, it can typically be reloaded one or more times. For example, it is not uncommon to reload the cartridge case for a .30-'06 round eight or more times.
Various types of reloading equipment and accessories are well known in the art and have been utilized by hunters and marksmen for over fifty (50) years which is clearly documented in the reloading handbooks and manuals previously identified. Reloading components, i.e. fresh primers, powder, bullets and unfired cartridge cases are available from sporting good stores and shooting ranges throughout the United States. Reloading devices for metallic cartridges are typically hand operated by a lever and are compact enough to be mounted on a garage workbench or on a table in the home. Some reloading devices are hydraulically operated.
Reloading of metallic cartridges involves at least five essential steps. After a cartridge case has been fired, it will be deformed. It is, therefore, necessary to restore the case to its original size. This process which is known as "resizing" can occur over the full length of the case or only in the neck area. The cartridge case itself will be inserted into a resizing die which reforms the case and returns it to the manufacturer's original dimensions. The fired primer must then be removed from the primer pocket. This operation which is known as "decapping" is often performed concurrent with resizing. A fresh primer will then be placed in the primer pocket--"repriming". A new charge of powder will be dropped in the hollow cartridge case--"charging". Finally, a bullet will be seated in the neck of the case, thus resulting in a fully reloaded metallic cartridge. All sorts of reloading devices and accessories are well known to one skilled in the art and are readily available from such major manufacturers as Lyman Products Corporation, RCBS, Lee Precision and others.
Early reloading equipment employed a single stage press during which the resizing, decapping, repriming, charging and bullet seating were consecutively performed on one cartridge case at a time. A once fired cartridge case would be placed in the reloading device. With one or more strokes of an operating lever, the case would be resized, decapped and reprimed. Fresh powder would be dropped in the cartridge case and finally the bullet would be seated with one or more strokes of the lever. The fully reloaded metallic cartridge would be removed from the reloading device. Another empty cartridge case would then be placed in the reloading device and the process would be repeated.
More advanced reloading equipment uses a turret which will typically hold five or more cartridges and simultaneously perform each of the aforementioned essential steps on a sequential basis for each cartridge case. This equipment which uses a turret is commonly referred to as "progressive". Other reloading equipment which does not have a turret is typically referred to as "nonprogressive". Both the progressive and nonprogressive types of reloading devices are typically operated by a lever. Using a progressive reloader, the operator, after getting set up, produces a fully loaded cartridge with each stroke of the lever. On the older nonprogressive types of reloading equipment, only one shell was handled at a time requiring multiple strokes of the lever before it was fully reloaded.
Both the progressive and nonprogressive reloading devices use a primer feed tube. The feed tube is an elongate hollow tube with an inside diameter slightly larger than the outside diameter of the primers. Primers are stacked vertically in the primer feed tube one on top of another for use in the reloading cycle.
Modern Boxer type primers are composed of two metal components, the cup and the anvil. The cup is on one end of the primer having rounded edges; the anvil is on the opposite end of the primer and has sharp 90.degree. corners. An explosive mixture is located between the cup and the anvil. When the firing pin strikes the exposed surface of the cup, it is deformed which squeezes the explosive mixture against the anvil causing an explosion which ignites the powder. The Berdan type of primer is built differently from the Boxer type primer, but can still be used in the practice of this invention.
Most American primers employ the Boxer type construction and come in two basic sizes: (a) small primers having a nominal diameter of 0.175 inches and a height of 0.120 inches, and (b) large primers having a nominal diameter of 0.210 inches and a height of 0.120. It should be noted that modern primers are very sensitive devices which should not be touched by human hands during the reloading process. Even the slightest amount of oil, perspiration or dirt can foul the primer and will most certainly reduce its shelf life. For these reasons, the transfer of primers from their shipping container to the primer feed tube is a rather delicate process. In addition, the primers are explosive and must be treated with due respect and care. Primers are typically transferred from their shipping container to the primer feed tube using devices well known in the art and commonly referred to as a "primer flipper", "primer arranger" or "primer tray". A discussion of the process occurs at pages 68-70 of the Speer Reloading Manual, tenth edition.
A primer flipper is a shallow circular pan with a lid. The bottom of the "primer flipper" is designed with a series of concentric grooves, slots or ridges. Primers typically come in thin rectangular packets of one hundred (100) from the manufacturer. Most primers are arranged in a single horizontal layer in the thin rectangular shipping packet. Most manufacturers arrange the primers on their side in the shipping packet. When this type of primer packet is opened and inverted, the primers tumble out in a random orientation; some have the anvil facing up and some have the cup facing up. Other manufacturers arrange the primers with the cup side facing up in the packet. When this latter type of primer packet is opened, it is possible to invert the packet and transfer the primers uniformly to a smooth surface with the anvil facing up.
The following discussion applies to the use of "primer flippers" and primer packets in which the primers are arranged on their side in a single horizontal layer. As is well known in the art, the shipping packet containing the primers is inverted 180.degree. and the primers are transferred to the primer flipper. This transfer causes the primers to be oriented in a random fashion; some have the anvil facing up and some have the cup facing up. The primer flipper is then agitated by hand which causes the primers to move across the slots, grooves or ridges. This agitation causes the primers to "flip" over such that the cup of the primer is now contacting the rough surface of the primer flipper. The lid is then placed on the primer flipper and the device is rotated 180.degree.. The hand loader is now prepared to transfer the primers to the primer feed tube through a very tedious manual operation.
The primer feed tube is an elongate hollow tubular member with an inside diameter slightly larger than the outside diameter of the primers which is open on both ends. One end of the primer feed tube is blocked by a stop clip; the other end is restricted by a collet. The collet acts as a check valve allowing primers to pass by the collet into the feed tube but preventing their escape. The operator will take the primer feed tube in one hand like a pencil and place the tube over one primer at a time. The cup side of the primer will be facing upward. A slight amount of force is applied to the primer feed tube which causes the primer to slip past the collet into the hollow interior of the primer feed tube. The collet does not block passage of improperly oriented primers, i.e. those with the anvil side up or those laying on their side.
Primers are stacked vertically one on top of another in the hollow interior of the primer feed tube. The primer feed tube is then inverted 180.degree. and placed in the reloader. The stop clip is removed and the primers are free to feed by gravity into the reloading device, as needed. A retainer or stop in the reloading device prevents the primers from pouring out of the feed tube all at once. During this entire process, the primers are not to be touched by human hands. If the primers are contaminated, most reloaders will throw them away rather than risk a misfire. The primers are stacked in the primer feed tube with the cup down ready for transfer to a repriming station in the reloading device and subsequent insertion into the primer pocket of the cartridge case. In most progressive and nonprogressive devices, a metal finger will transfer the primers one at a time from the primer feed tube to the repriming station in the reloading device. The metal finger will typically depress the retainer or stop, allowing one primer at a time to pass from the feed tube to the metal finger.
This invention eliminates the tedious manual operation of filling primer feed tubes one primer at a time. This method and apparatus will allow the typical operator to fill primer feed tubes approximately four times faster than conventional filling methods using a primer flipper. In order to practice this invention, it will be necessary to modify the primer feed tube used in a conventional reloading device by sawing off the collet. During the reloading process, filling of the primer feed tube will take approximately one third of the overall reloading time when using a progressive type reloading device. A significant increase in throughput can be achieved through use of this method and apparatus.
It should be noted that other advanced priming devices are known in the art such as the Auto-Prime II by Lee Precision. This device uses a modified primer flipper connected to a trough for direct feeding of primers into a reloading device. It should be noted that these troughs come in large and small sizes. This priming device does not use a primer feed tube and therefore cannot be used in conjunction with the present invention.
Various types of feed tubes and priming devices are shown in the reloading handbooks and manuals previously identified.
Some shotgun shells are capable of being reloaded on numerous occasions like metallic cartridges. It should be noted, however, that the primers used for shotgun shells come in only one size and are not of the same shape or configuration as center fire rifle and pistol primers. It should also be noted that in the shotshell reloading art various automatic priming devices are well known and in common use. Unfortunately, these devices used for automatic feeding of shotshell primers will not work on center fire rifle and pistol primers because of the differences in primer design, shape and packaging.
For example, the Grabber 76, manufactured by Mayville Engineering Company, Inc. (MEC), uses an automatic primer feed. This primer feed consists of a rectangular primer tray with a smooth bottom into which primers are transferred directly from the shipping packet. Any primers which are improperly oriented after being transferred into the primer tray must be manually reoriented. Manual contact with shotshell primers is not nearly so critical as with center fire rifles and pistol primers. When the main operational lever of the Grabber 76 is stroked, a small arm transfers one primer at a time from the rectangular primer tray to a drop tube which directs the primer into a primer seating assembly in the reloader. It should be noted that the primers are stacked adjacent to each other on a horizontal plane on the rectangular tray. They are not stacked vertically one on top of another in the drop tube.